A Young Woman's Heart

Even if someone does look at her, they quickly look away.

"Xiao Yao... are you hungry?" Mo Zhuyou rubbed her stomach and sat up lazily. "It seems like we... haven't had lunch, right? Hmm? Did we eat or not? I feel like we did, but I also feel like we didn't."

"You definitely didn't eat it." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at her. "You ate it in your dream, didn't you?"

"Huh? Really? No wonder I feel so hungry." Mo Zhuyou stretched lazily. "Did you make dinner, sister?"

"I don't know either." She had just woken up and of course didn't know. "Hmm... it seems like they were doing it, outside, right?"

"Outside?"

In August, the countryside is actually not that hot.

The air conditioner had been turned off sometime ago. When I went outside, the temperature difference wasn't significant and was perfectly acceptable.

The wind blowing in my face was unexpectedly cool, and in the courtyard, a bonfire was burning with a relatively flat stone on top, it looked like they were really going to do stone grilling.

"Hey, Xiaoyao, you're awake!" Nora greeted her cheerfully, pouring rice wine into her mouth from a glass.

This rice wine is what the two sisters usually eat as a late-night snack when they get home too late. Since it's just some soup, it won't make them feel bloated, and the alcohol in it can even help them sleep.

Nora has already drunk quite a bit of it—without beer or vodka, this is all she can make do with.

The rice wine wasn't low in alcohol content. Usually, it was heated so that there wasn't much alcohol left, but now she was drinking it straight, so it must have been at least 13 or 14 degrees, yet she didn't seem drunk at all.

Judging from the half-empty bottle next to her, if it was full when she drank, then Nora has already drunk almost a pound of rice wine...

"Good evening." Mo Xueyao rubbed her eyes and sat down next to Li Wanyan. "Are you planning to make stone-grilled meat?"

"Yes, the meat is ready. We're just waiting for the stones to heat up before we put the meat on them."

"Actually, it tastes pretty much the same as teppanyaki, right?"

"There's a slight difference. Teppanyaki grilling involves a fire burning underneath, while stone grilling involves placing the stones directly on the ground without any fire underneath."

Is it cooked through?

"Of course you can, but it will need to burn for a while."

“There’s another way to bake it,” Nora said in English, as if she understood, without anyone translating for her. “That is to spread red-hot pebbles on the ground.”

"That kind must be more troublesome, right?" Mo Xiaoxiao hadn't tried it before, so she asked in English.

"Hmm, it's that kind of wild... um... wild! grilling method, usually used when roasting suckling lamb." Nora thought about the word "wild" for a while, describing it in Russian for a long time before finding a suitable English word to express her meaning.

The stone had already turned visibly red, so Mo Xiaoxiao used pliers to place it on the ground to the side, and then put the marinated pork belly that had been prepared beforehand on it.

"Sizzle—" Instantly, the aroma filled the air. The stone, though without fire, still retained its warmth, rapidly heating the pork belly until one side turned golden brown.

Then flip it over, and the roasted pork belly is done.

This is a large piece of pork belly, which needs to be cut into smaller pieces and arranged on a plate.

With the cold dishes I didn't eat at noon, that's my dinner for today.

To be honest, Mo Xueyao still felt it wasn't quite enough.

Nora seemed to understand her expression and laughed loudly, saying, "Next time you come to Russia, I'll take you to eat that kind of roasted whole lamb cooked on stones! If you can eat it, you can even tear off a whole leg and gnaw on it."

"That's way too much... I definitely couldn't eat that much. Even if it were an ostrich leg, it would still feel huge."

"Ostriches are about the same size as sheep, right?" Mo Zhuyou interjected.

"Hmm, really? Then...turkey?"

"Turkey is the worst-tasting meat." Nora curled her lip, clearly disliking the animal, and criticized it in Chinese, "It has thick skin and tough meat, and it's also very dry, not tasty at all."

"Huh? Really? Those turkeys in cartoons look so delicious." Mo Zhuyou looked incredulous. "We've never eaten them before."

"Okay, then I'll get one for you sometime."

"Is it possible to get one?" Mo Xiaoxiao asked doubtfully.

"It should be fine. Even if China doesn't have it, it can be shipped from abroad, but then it will be frozen."

Meanwhile, Mo Zhuyou, whose English wasn't very good, felt like an outsider in everyone's conversation about Nora, completely unable to join in the discussion...

……

Chapter 126 Huang Yuxi and the Earrings

"Zhengyang, are you going home?" A middle-aged man who looked fat when he wasn't wearing clothes, but very strong when he was dressed, shouted at him.

"Huh? Boss, what's up? Is there any other work?"

"No, no, I'm not asking you to work overtime." Huang Zhengyang's boss was a straightforward person and had always been very good to him—although he was good to most people, he was the best to his drivers.

Perhaps it's an appreciation for young people, or maybe they see a reflection of their own struggles in him.

This boss actually started from scratch. It is said that he was a truck driver in his early years, responsible for delivering goods. He gradually saved up money before starting his own business, and then it grew bigger and bigger until it reached such a large scale.

"Oh, it's okay, working overtime is fine too. If anyone really doesn't have time, I can help out. After all, everyone has times when they really can't get away." Huang Zhengyang leaned half his body against the car window and looked down, then couldn't help but yawn.

He got up early this morning to deliver goods, and now the sun has already set.

Actually, today was already considered overtime. Normally, I would have left at 4:30.

"Thank you for your hard work today."

"It's alright, it's alright."

"Here, take this!" The shopkeeper handed over a delicate paper bag.

Huang Zhengyang opened it out of curiosity and found a red jewelry box inside. He then opened the jewelry box and found a pair of earrings inside, each set with a small yellow gemstone. Although they were small, they were still very beautiful.

"What's this for? Boss, you've got the wrong thing, haven't you? Haha—" Huang Zhengyang laughed loudly, "It's an earring inside."

"No problem, I didn't take the wrong one."

"Seriously? Boss, do I look like someone who would get their ears pierced?" He patted his muscular chest forcefully. "I'm a real man!"

"Hey kid, this is a souvenir gift I asked someone to buy for my wife. He thought I was going to buy two pairs, so he bought too many. If I give this extra pair to other girls, wouldn't it be easy for them to misunderstand? After thinking about it, I decided to just give it to you. When you have a girlfriend, you can give it to her!"

"Ah...this...is it expensive? It's not good if it's too expensive..."

"It's alright, even though it's pure silver, it's only a little over a hundred."

"Holy crap, these two tiny things cost over a hundred?" Huang Zhengyang was startled.

"The yellow sapphire on top is expensive!"

"Uh……"

"Take it, take it. You can give it to whomever you want after you accept it."

"Oh..." Huang Zhengyang hesitated for a moment, remembering the two ear piercings his younger brother had gotten on his earlobes after returning from the beach.

Rather than letting him wear those cheap earrings that might cause problems, it's better to let him wear these. Anyway, there's no stopping him if he wants to wear earrings.

Actually, Huang Yuxi only got one ear piercing at first, but after coming back, she felt it was asymmetrical and didn't look good, so she couldn't help but secretly get another one. Huang Zhengyang, this rough and tough man, never noticed this small detail; he thought she had two ear piercings from beginning to end.

Although Huang Zhengyang felt that wanting to wear earrings was a bit effeminate, he didn't find it strange.

After all, many foreign male celebrities wear earrings nowadays, not just those who look like women, but even those who are all muscular, don't they wear earrings?

Perhaps this is just a fashion trend.

Just like how pink men's shirts have become popular in recent years.

When Huang Zhengyang, a young man, discovered that his younger brother had his ears pierced, he didn't ask any questions and just let him be.

"What's wrong? Looks like you have a girlfriend now, and you're interested? Or do you have someone you like?"

"No, no..." Huang Zhengyang smiled awkwardly. If he followed his boss's logic, wouldn't that mean he was saying his girlfriend was his younger brother?

Although I did impersonate someone once, it was just to save face.

"Ah, then, I'll accept it."

"Okay, take it. Give it to someone you like." The shopkeeper tossed two more plastic bottles that had originally held Coke into the car. "This is vegetable oil that we press ourselves on our farm. Take some home and use it first. I'll send out larger bottles at the end of the year!"

"Oh, thank you, boss." Compared to the expensive earrings I just wore, this one is much more practical.

Huang Zhengyang happily placed the two bottles of cooking oil on the passenger seat, then released the handbrake and slowly started the truck.

"Let's go!"

"Drive carefully!" The boss waved his hand forcefully, and as the truck moved forward, it gradually disappeared from the rearview mirror.

He quickly returned home, and as soon as he turned on the light, he saw his younger brother asleep on the table next to the French windows.

There was a large bowl on the table, with some leftover instant noodle crumbs inside.

"Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi?"

"Um……"

"Instant noodles again tonight? Weren't there leftover rice? Why not just make some fried rice with an egg?" Huang Zhengyang took off his shirt and threw it into the bathroom, revealing his well-built muscles.

When he gets home, he usually takes off his shirt because it's cooler that way, unless he feels too cold with the air conditioning on, in which case he'll put it back on.

Huang Yuxi opened her eyes groggily, looked at him, and pouted, as if she was sulking.

"Haha, what's wrong? I worked a little overtime today, so I got back late. There's no need to be angry, is there?"

"Hmph." Huang Yuxi turned her head away, but secretly looked at her brother through the reflection in the window glass.

"This hole should be usable now, right?" Huang Zhengyang's voice suddenly came very close to him, gently pinching his earlobe as he asked.

Huang Yuxi's heart suddenly raced a little, and his face flushed slightly. For a moment, he didn't realize what his brother was referring to.

"Look, these are earrings the boss gave me." Huang Zhengyang handed over the paper bag like he was showing off a treasure. "There's a pair of earrings in here that cost over a hundred yuan, they're really expensive! They're set with yellow gemstones, I think they're quite pretty, why don't you try them on?"

"Hmm...?" Huang Yuxi was stunned. It was already surprising enough that her brother had let him get his ears pierced before, but this time he even brought back earrings for him. He was really too understanding of him.

This kind of good intention is even a little overwhelming.

Although Huang Zhengyang didn't really think too much about it, after all, it was just a gift from his boss that he then gave to Huang Yuxi.

"Does my brother like me wearing earrings?" He carefully held up the whiteboard with words written on it.

"Huh? Uh... Well, you've already been through the pain, so it would be a shame not to wear them, right? These days, aren't all male celebrities wearing earrings? I think it's fine for you to wear them. It's not like it's a woman's prerogative. You know, even skirts and stockings used to be worn by men first!"

"Thank you, brother."